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My friend Fred from Case does a great job previewing a few new knives for WRCase for 2018. Of particular interest are the collaboration knives with Tony Bose as well as some exciting new fixed blade knives from Danial Winkler.

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Recently our friends at Blade HQ had a chance to sit down with Eric Glasser, son of Spyderco founder Sal, at Shot Show. Spyderco has some very exciting new and improved models that I am quite happy to see. As many of you know Spyderco tries very hard to maintain quality in Spyderco’s Colorado factory and in its contract factories in China, Taiwan, Japan and Italy. They pride themselves on listening to customers. They are not the largest knife company out there but they do put out a good quality product, even venturing into some fixed blades.

Hope you enjoy this one!

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We get a look at the new lineup for 2018 for CRKT and as in past years they have relied on designers to produce designs they can put into production. For the most part CRKT knives are inexpensive and imported. They usually make a good choice for an everyday carry. Of particular interest is the MK 16 which they have redone in a Framelock style and are using Sandvik. steel.

Also CRKT is rolling out some knives using the basic design they have called Field Strip Technolohy originally designed by legendary knife designer Ken Onion. It’s a about a 20 minute video but if you have interest in CRKT and enjoy their knives it’s worth a look as these knives will be or are already reaching store shelves.

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Prior to calling Lacy Smith of Smith Knives, I took the time to make a pot of coffee and I am sure glad I did. Our phone conversation went almost an hour and the cough/ cold congestion I am fighting left me gasping for air and gulps of coffee helped keep my throat from drying up completely.

Lacy Smith is an interesting person, he’s been making knives, first as a hobby and then full time and would sell you one of his custom knives along with sharing his personal faith in a wonderful one,two presentation.

For many years he designed and made automotive parts with contracts and a thriving business. When his industry suffered a downturn in 2008. Lacy found himself looking for other opportunities. Smith spent a lot of time praying, asking for guidance. It wasn’t long before his hobby of making knives opened up to something more. While trying to understand how he would buy Christmas presents for his kids, an order showed up for a good quantity of knives. Another order came in for almost the same amount and not only was Christmas saved but an entirely new career was launched.

In the process of launching his newfound career, the need for a logo came to mind. In the middle of the night, a vision,that Lacy credits to a dream, and with pen in hand at 2am he came up with this:

And this description on his website:
Thanks for your interest in Smith Knives.

In business since 2010, our mission is to provide quality handmade knives at affordable prices.

About My Logo

The design of my logo took a lot of thought about the things that matter the most in my life. I have included items that represent both my family and my faith.

3) The three S’s have a dual meaning – They represent me and my two sons, but more importantly they represent Salvation – made possible by Jesus Christ, Santification – made possible by my Heavenly Father through salvation by Jesus Christ, &Solace – the comfort that can only be recieved from the Holy Ghost through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Lacy enjoys a long time friendship and working relationship with Brad Vice, the owner of Alabama Damascus Steel. Together the two men have rejuvenated an old plant into a Damascus producing, knife making business. That Alabama Damascus eventually become beautiful blades as they are ground to the right shape and sharpness.

I took another sip of coffee and began talking about one of the things that caught my interest, a new offering by Smith Knives that took advantage of small Damascus pieces that would come from scraps left over after cutting the knives. Lacy and his son were discussing what they could do with these scraps. In a most incredible moment they both thought of the same thing…. A small Damascus Cross. This is what caught my eye and inspired this article. Here is a picture:

There it is sitting on top of my workbench along with some of the things that came along with the Cross. I only added the chain. These are available of the Smith Knives website. Information on where to buy are at the end of my article.

Smith turns out some great knives and here are some fine examples of what comes out of the shop:

Today Smith Knives books are closed and they have a nearly two year backlog of orders that keep him tremendously busy. Many of his orders are from repeat customers who have come to know and understand the quality of his work. To me that’s a true sign of a craftsman, repeat customers who rely on a quality cutting tool.

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I would like to thank all those who follow my blog, give likes or comments. It’s been an exciting year and I look forward to the next one. We have interviews, more videos, more reviews and reporting from the new shows of 2018 like Shot Show and Blade. We look forward to shows like Forged in Fire and some new ones to debut in 2018.

Also would like to share a favorite song of mine from Carroll Roberson, The 12 Days of Christmas. I included the video with lyrics to sing along. If you have never believed in Jesus, ask for forgiveness, receive Him, and make Him the Lord of your life. When you hear the words of this song, relalize He has some wonderful things in mind for you in this world and Forever after.

Merry Christmas!

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Hosted by my friends Chad( Forged in Fire) and Maria. A link to their WordPress account below. Doing just a fine job promoting the craft as well as setting the stage for their future farm. I have great respect for them as my wife and I believed in farming and ranching as well. This post is going out to nearly 5000 people. We welcome comments and questions!

Today was the very first class for our blacksmithing school. I had two students, Anthony, and Shane. They were great students and did very well. We spent a good bit of time discussing shop safety and tools selection. Especially after hearing about the knucklehead from upstate New York who burned down half a town by […]First day of school..

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In the span of just a few weeks, I had the privilege of seeing two posts on the YouTube Channel of the Apostle P (Rob) concerning handmade knives. Blend that with the hours I spend on social media, watching and covering the knife industry, and just like that the knife industry is changing. Primarily I am speaking of folders or pocket knives.

Clearly the days of the tactical, titanium, or plastic or G10 knife scales, although not gone, are giving ways to wood or bone or good old stag. No the so called tactical knives will still be with us, with some new designs,new materials and various improvements in mechanisms to open, close or clean your knife.

But the tactical are just being slightly forced into sharing center stage with traditional pocket knife patterns like the trapper, the stockman and the barlow.

And custom makers are yearning to create these traditional patterns. Today you have people like my friend Tom Ploppert making some beautiful traditional folding knives. In this video we see KNIFEMAKER Jeff Claiborne, Aaron Cooper and Esnyx( Evan Nicollaides) talk about building these knives. This video also shows a brief bit of forging the blade. That’s right these guys are doing it all..right down to forging the blade and making a sheath to put it in. These knives are not inexpensive. But you can count on them being passed down through generations.

In an earlier video, The Apostle P(Rob) also talks with Cooper, Esnyx as well as Knifemaker Tony Bose. Tony is a long time advocate of handmade knives, including folders, using traditional patterns. Some of these patterns have not been made in a while and yet have proven to be very popular, just ask WR Case.